Name
Date
Period
18.1 Finding Order in Diversity
Assigning Scientific Names To study Earth’s great diversity of organisms, biologists must
give each organism a name. Biologists also must organize living things into groups in a
logical way. Therefore, biologists need a classification system. The science of naming and
grouping organisms is called systematics.
In the 1730s, Carolus Linnaeus developed a naming system, called binomial nomenclature.
In binomial nomenclature, each species is assigned a two-part scientific name:
The first part of the name refers to the genus, or a group of similar species.
The second part of the name is unique to each species.
Linnaean Classification System Linnaeus’s system of classification has seven different
levels. From smallest to largest, the levels are species, genus, family, order, class, phylum,
and kingdom. Each of the ranking levels is called a taxon.
Just as a genus is a group of similar species, a family is a group of similar genera.
An order is a group of similar families.
A class is a group of similar orders.
A phylum is a group of similar classes.
A kingdom is a group of similar phyla.
Assigning Scientific Names
1. Complete the graphic organizer.
A useful scientific
name must have
two
characteristics:
Each name must refer
to only one species
Everyone must use the
same name
For Questions 2–3, write the letter of the correct answer on the line at the left.
2. What is the science of naming and grouping organisms called?
A. genetics
B. speciation
C. systematics
D. linnaeanology
3. Modern systematists try to group organisms based on
A. size.
B. evolutionary relationships.
C. ecological niche.
D. physical appearance.
4. Why is it confusing to refer to organisms by common names?
Misnomers, misleading, not universal
5. What is binomial nomenclature?
Two-word naming system for organisms
6. What genus does the grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, belong to?
Ursus
7. What is the correct way to write scientific names in the binomial nomenclature system?
Genus species OR Genus species
Linnaean Classification System
For Questions 8–10, complete each statement by writing the correct word or words.
8. The goal of systematics is to organize living things into groups, called taxons, that have
biological meaning.
9. The largest taxonomic category in the Linnaean system of classification is the kingdom ,
while the smallest is the species.
10. Similar classes are grouped into a(n) phylum , and similar orders are grouped into a(n)
class.
11. Fill in the name of each missing taxonomic category in the chart below.
KINGDOM
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Carnivora
Family
Ursidae
Genus
Ursus
SPECIES
Ursus arctos
12. How does Linnaeus’s system of classification help establish the unity of life?
The system classifies organisms based on overall similarities and differences to one
another. Organisms in the same genus share many similarities. Organisms in the same
kingdom may have many differences, but they still have common traits with one another.
Name
Date
Period
18.2 Modern Evolutionary Classification
Evolutionary Classification The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms is called
phylogeny. Classification based on evolutionary relationships is called phylogenetic
systematics, or evolutionary classification.
Evolutionary classification places organisms into higher taxa whose members are more
closely related to one another than they are to members of any other group. The larger
the taxon, the further back in time all of its members shared a common ancestor.
In this system, organisms are placed into groups called clades. A clade is a group of
species that includes a single common ancestor and all descendants of that ancestor. A
clade must be a monophyletic group. A monophyletic group must include all species that
are descended from a common ancestor, and cannot include any species that are not
descended from that common ancestor.
Cladograms A cladogram is a diagram that shows how species and higher taxa are related to
each other. A cladogram shows how evolutionary lines, or lineages, branched off from
common ancestors.
In a cladogram, the place where the ancestral lineage splits is called a fork, or a node.
Nodes represent the point where new lineages last shared a common ancestor.
The bottom of the diagram, or the root, represents the ancestor shared by all of the
organisms on the cladogram.
Cladistic analysis relies on specific shared traits, or characters. A derived character is
a trait that arose in the most recent common ancestor of a particular lineage and was
passed to all of its descendants.
DNA in Classification All organisms have DNA. Because DNA is so similar across all forms
of life, this molecule can be compared in different species. In general, the more derived
genetic characters two species share, the more recently the species shared a common
ancestor and the more closely related they are.
Evolutionary Classification
1. How did Darwin’s theory of evolution change the way biologists thought about
classification categories?
Biologists now group oranisms into categories that represent lines of evolutionary
descent, not just physical similarities
2. Describe the goal of phylogenetic systematics (evolutionary classification).
Group organisms together based on their evolutionary history, not just their similarities
and differences
3. Which group of organisms would have the most recent common ancestor: the members
of a clade corresponding to a genus or the members of a clade corresponding to an
order? Explain your answer.
Members of a clade corresponding to a genus – smaller taxon than an order, the larger
the taxon, the further back in time its members shared a common ancestor
For Questions 4–6, complete each statement by writing the correct word or words.
4. All species descended from a(n) common ancestor are part of a monophyletic group.
5. Phylogeny is the study of how living and extinct organisms are related to one another.
6. A clade includes a common ancestor and all its descendants, living or extinct.
Cladograms
For Questions 7–9, complete each statement by writing the correct word or words.
7. A diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms is
called a(n) cladogram.
8. The place where the ancestral lineage splits on a cladogram is called a fork, or a(n) node.
9. Characteristics shared by members of a clade and only by members of that clade are
called derived characteristics.
10.Examine the cladogram below:
 Shade in the two organisms that belong to a clade that does not include the third
organism. Cross-hatch the organism that does not belong to the clade. (crab and
barnacle shaded, limpet cross-hatched)
 Circle the point on the cladogram that shows the most recent common ancestor of the
crab and the barnacle.
 Mark an X on the point on the cladogram that shows the most recent common ancestor
of mollusks and crustaceans.
Underline the characteristic that all three organisms have in common (tiny free-swimming
larva)
DNA in Classification
11. Why can genes be considered derived characters?
Genes are passed on from generation to generation. Organisms share a number of
genes. Because genes mutate over time, shared genes contain differences that can be
used as derived characteristics
Use the figure below to answer Questions 12–14.
12. According to the figure, which species is most closely related to red pandas?
raccoons
13. Although giant pandas and raccoons share some distinct anatomical similarities, they are
in different clades. What type of evidence do you think was used to construct this
diagram?
DNA evidence (DNA in the nucleus and MITOCHONDRIA)
14. Biologists had previously classified giant pandas together with raccoons and red pandas.
What did DNA analysis reveal about giant pandas and bears?
Giant pandas and bears share a more recent common ancestor than giant pandas and
raccoons
15. Both humans and yeasts have a gene that codes for a myosin protein. What does this
indicate about their ancestry?
Similarities at the molecular level indicate that humans and yeasts share a common
ancestry
Name
Date
Period
18.3 Building the Tree of Life
Changing Ideas About Kingdoms As biologists learned more about the natural world, they
realized that Linnaeus’s two kingdoms, Animalia and Plantae, did not represent all life.
Researchers found that microorganisms were very different from plants and animals.
They were placed in their own kingdom, called Protista.
Then, yeast, molds, and mushrooms were separated from plants and placed in their own
kingdom, called Fungi.
Because bacteria lack nuclei, mitochondria, and chloroplasts, they were separated from
Protista and placed in another new kingdom, called Monera.
In the 1990s, kingdom Monera was divided into two kingdoms: Eubacteria and
Archaebacteria. The six-kingdom system of classification includes the kingdoms
Eubacteria, Archaebacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
Genetic analysis revealed that two prokaryotic groups are even more different from
each other, and from Eukaryotes, than previously thought. This discovery lead to the
creation of a new taxon, called the domain. The domain is a larger, more inclusive
category than a kingdom. The three domain system consists of: Bacteria, Archaea, and
Eukarya.
Domain Bacteria corresponds to the kingdom Eubacteria. Domain Archaea corresponds to
the kingdom Archaebacteria. Domain Eukarya corresponds tokingdoms Fungi, Plantae,
Animalia, and “Protista.”
Quotations are used for the old kingdom Protista to signify that it is not a valid clade.
The Tree of All Life The tree of life shows current hypotheses regarding evolutionary
relationships among taxa within the three domains of life.
The domain Bacteria includes unicellular organisms without a nucleus. They have cell
walls containing a substance called peptidoglycan.
The domain Archaea also includes unicellular organisms without a nucleus. These
organisms have cell walls that do not contain peptidoglycan.
The domain Eukarya includes the four remaining kingdoms: “Protista,” Fungi, Plantae, and
Animalia. All members of the domain Eukarya have cells with a nucleus.
 Most members of the kingdom “Protista,” are unicellular organisms. Some Protista are
photosynthetic; others are heterotrophs.
 Most members of the kingdom Fungi are multicellular, and all members of this kingdom
are heterotrophs with cell walls containing chitin.
 All members of the kingdom Plantae are multicellular and photosynthetic. Most plants
cannot move about, and their cells have cell walls.
 All members of the kingdom Animalia are multicellular heterotrophs. Most animals can
move about, and their cells lack cell walls.
Changing Ideas About Kingdoms
1. What fundamental traits did Linnaeus use to separate plants from animals?
Animals were mobile organisms that used food for energy. Plants were green
organism that did not move and got their energy from the sun
2. What types of organisms were first placed in the kingdom Protista?
All microorganisms
3. What types of organisms were placed into the kingdom Fungi?
Mushrooms, yeast and molds
4. Why did scientists place bacteria in their own kingdom, the Monera?
Bacteria lack nuclei, mitochondria, and chloroplasts
5. What two kingdoms was kingdom Monera separated into?
Archaebacteria and Eubacteria
6. Complete the concept map.
The Six-Kingdom
System
Includes
Animalia
Plantae
Fungi
Protista
Eubacteria
Archaebacteria
7. What is a domain?
Larger, more inclusive than a kingdom
8. What did genomic analysis reveal about the two prokaryotic groups?
They were more different from each other and from eukaryotes than previously
thought
The Tree of All Life
9. Complete the chart below.
Classification of Living Things
Domain
Kingdom
Examples
Bacteria
Eubacteria
Salmonella typhimurium
Archaea
Archaebacteria
Sulfolobus archaea
Eukarya
“Protista”
Ciliates, brown algae, vary
Fungi
mushrooms, yeasts
Plantae
Vary
Animalia
Sponges, worms, insects,
fishes, mammals
Match the kingdom with the description that applies to members of that kingdom.
Kingdom
Description
C
10.
“Protista”
A. They feed on dead or decaying organic matter.
A
11.
Fungi
B. They have no cell walls and they move about.
D
12.
Plantae
C. They are a “catchall” group of eukaryotes.
B
13.
Animalia
D. They include mosses and ferns.
14. What characteristics led camels to be classified in the same domain, kingdom, phylum,
and class as dogs?